Skip to content

Home » public sector preferences

public sector preferences

Federal & State and Local Government Respondents Looking Forward to Networking Opportunities, Speaking with Industry Experts One-on-One, Being Hands-On with New Products and Technologies

Washington, DC / Monday, May, 22, 2023 — The research team at Market Connections Inc is releasing part two their Marketing for the Public Sector study at an exclusive information session happening in Tysons Corner, Virginia.

Industry experts will join President of Research and Forecasting at GovExec, Aaron Heffron, to present findings from the spring iteration of the Marketing 4 the Public Sector Study (M4PS): Content Marketing. Attendees will include marketing and communications leaders within the U.S. public sector. The exclusive information session and breakfast networking event is happening in Tysons, VA on Thursday, June 29th, at the Archer hotel. 

Formerly the Content Marketing Review, the spring M4PS study answers pertinent questions about when, where, and how the public sector prefers to receive information about products and services. This information is critical in helping marketing and communications professionals develop actionable content marketing strategies.

Highlights from the study include:

  • One third of respondents use LinkedIn for news related to their job vertical.
  • The favorite format for job-related information and education is explainer videos.
  • Respondents look to different types of content depending on where they are in the buying process.
  • Respondents favor in-person events over virtual.

“In person events are back. While it’s still important to offer hybrid options, people are eager to get out and meet peers and vendors face-to-face,” said Heffron. “It is also important to note that the public sector turns to different content types depending on where they are in the buying process. That underlies the importance of creating a marketing strategy that hits each touchpoint.”

Regardless of company size or marketing budget, attendees of the M4PS breakfast can expect to leave the information session with pertinent, actionable information to inform marketing plans and strategies. 

Early bird pricing ends June 12, 2023. Only a limited number of tickets are available, so register now to reserve your spot.

About Market Connections

Market Connections; a portfolio platform of GovExec, delivers trusted, actionable intelligence and insights that enable improved business performance and positioning for leading businesses, government agencies and trade associations. The custom market research firm is a sought-after authority on preferences, perceptions and trends among government executives and the contractors who serve them, offering deep domain expertise in information technology and telecommunications; healthcare; and education. Market Connections also provides the tools for organizations to expand thought-leadership in their respective markets and is known for its annual Marketing 4 the Public Sector study, the only comprehensive survey of the media habits of federal and state/local decision-makers, as well as the Federal IT (FIT) Personas Study. For more information, please visit: www.marketconnectionsinc.com

Understand Public Sector Preferences & Consumption

Like many of you, recent events have caused us to cancel or postpone our in-person meetings, events and conferences based on government guidelines to create some social distance to protect ourselves and our community. Many of these events and meetings were crucial to our business from both an educational and business development perspective.

While it’s a good thing for our nation, marketers will need to review and revisit their plans for reaching target audiences and could affect the way our business works not only over the next couple of months, but we may well feel the impact on our businesses for the next 18-24 months.

Social media, webinars and virtual events are critical activities in keeping your business rolling, making contacts, and educating your customers who may be self-quarantining. The good news is, many of those working in the public sector were already leveraging these tools on a regular basis, so we won’t have to start from scratch.

According to our most recent Federal Media & Marketing Study (FMMS), three-quarters of federal workers reported watching live webinars during the workday, and at least one in five were watching recorded webinars on their own time (weeknights and weekends). We foresee this number growing over the coming months. In this new environment for engaging our audiences, it’s important to maximize specific content and optimize the timing and length of these virtual events.

Market Connections’ Content Marketing Review found both federal and state and local audiences most want webinars to include research and data supported content and highlight specific examples of past performances. In addition to these key elements, they also wanted to see content tailored to their organization type and product specifications.

CASE STUDY: Learn how client, Lockheed Martin, used thought leadership research to create a webinar and other marketing assets.

Market Connections has also found that over one-third of federal workers and nearly one-quarter of state and local workers were already spending 30+ minutes on webinars. Approximately 50% of feds preferred watching a webinar during the lunch hour (between 11 AM and 2 PM).

While nothing replaces great face-to-face opportunities to meet and connect with your public sector customers, webinars may be a great way to build on your relationships, provide them useful insights, educate them and provide a virtual social touch point; not only during times of isolation, but also as part of our regular marketing planning.

Learn more about webinars and the public sector:

Learn more about creating research-based thought leadership content for webinars.